


Broken Trust

by Quicksilvermad



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Belle & Captain Hook | Killian Jones Friendship, Canon Compliant, Captain Book friendship, Gen, Missing Scene, Six Weeks Before Episode: s04e12 Darkness on the Edge of Town, anti-rumbelle, anti-rumplestiltskin, season 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-01
Updated: 2017-10-01
Packaged: 2019-01-07 17:24:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12237363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quicksilvermad/pseuds/Quicksilvermad
Summary: Belle tries to come to terms with Rumple's actions in the clock tower.





	Broken Trust

She banished him. She felt broken—he lied to her, broken any last shred of trust she had in the strides he seemed to have been making toward the light. The trust that she was the one who meant more to him than any temptation of power.

Belle returned to the apartment she'd found as Lacey and spent a very long time crying in the shower, heartbroken. She curled up in bed, hair still wet, and her mind replayed the moment in the clock tower. 

She had paid close attention to Hook's heart when it was dropped and she remembers. 

Belle once told him he had a rotten heart. 

It was anything but. The small swirl of black that he did have was nearly overwhelmed with vibrant red. 

How was it that Hook, the man who _shot her_ was more pure of heart than Rumple—the man she had trusted to cherish her own heart? How was it fair that Hook, a villain, was changed for the better by his love and Rumple...

Wouldn't. 

Yesterday had been irrefutable proof that Rumple was still a creature who cavalierly murdered for his own, selfish gain. He must think she'd been perfectly gullible. 

Ignorant. 

And that thought stung more than anything—more than being shot. 

The following morning, Belle eschewed her normal wardrobe and dressed herself in leggings and an oversized sweater, wanting the comfort of her lounging around clothes even as she ventured to the library. She sought to regain some sense of calm among her books. 

She didn't expect to see Hook hunched over a large tome when she entered. 

He looked up in surprise at her entrance. His brow furrowed, and Belle watched as he nervously scratched behind his right ear. 

"I imagine I am the last person you wish to see," he said, his voice soft. Belle frowned as he carefully closed the thick book. She didn't know how to respond to that and peered at the title of the book instead. 

" _Rare and Magical Objects_ ," she recited. Then it clicked. "You're looking for a way to free the fairies trapped in the hat."

Hook nodded. 

Belle searched his eyes and saw the remorse there—another thing she'd never seen in Rumple (how could she have been so _foolish_?). Hook wanted to make things right. And this was the change she desperately wished she could have seen grow in Rumple. 

Belle shoved the sleeves of her sweater up to her elbows and stepped closer. 

"I should be able to find more references in the back."

They spent the morning together, cross-referencing and taking notes on a shared yellow legal pad. 

And in Belle's mind, Hook became Killian.


End file.
